Duke Head Coach Mike KrzyzewskiOpening Statement:
“Our guys played a terrific game this afternoon from start to finish. I thought we played hard, I thought Maryland played really hard. We had some spurts and hit threes well today. We got a little bit of momentum and some separation in the first half and again in the second half. We just played well. They’re big and strong and I thought they played very aggressive and good basketball and we just played a little bit better. A huge shot in that second half was when the shot was blocked with a nine-point lead. We got the loose ball and Seth [Curry] hit a three, putting us up by twelve. It was a Duke shot. Our guys were taking Duke shots today. They were playing with a really good spirit. The crowd was great.”

“I think it’s our first step to becoming who we’re going to be now. We’re obviously a different team without Ryan and we have to play like we won’t have him. I think we will have him at some time, but we have to figure out who we are without him. I thought we handled the ball well with only four turnovers and eighteen assists. It was just a good game. Our preparation was intense and we played that way. I’m very impressed with our team.”

On the team’s offensive continuity:
“Our guys are becoming a little bit more familiar with playing with one another. Seth [Curry] hardly practices. We’ve practiced about 65 times and he’s probably missed about 45-46 practices. When you are starting to put something new in, if he isn’t practicing, you won’t get the continuity that you would’ve. He’s one of our best players. He did practice on Thursday and we took him out of the Miami game early because we were getting killed. Because of that, we were almost already prepared for the next game. He felt good enough to practice on Thursday and I think it really helped us. Any time he can practice that day, we are going to get better than if he didn’t practice. We’ve been dealing with it all year, and with Ryan [Kelly] and Mason [Plumlee] playing you don’t see it as much. But when only one of them is playing, it’s different.”

On protecting the ball and making shots:
“We’ve been pretty good at [protecting the ball]. The game against Miami, first of all, they’re very, very good. They’re old and together. There’s not one old guy, because [Shane] Larkin plays older and he’s one of the best guards in the country. I thought we were in shock when we couldn’t put the ball in. We missed lay-ups, free throws and open shots. I can’t remember a game where three guards went 1-29. It was unusual. You have to see the ball go in the basket, especially when you’re young. We’re a younger team now and you have to see the ball go in. Today we executed a lot better.”

On Rasheed Sulaimon:
“Rasheed [Sulaimon] played a great game. I didn’t think he started out well. When we took him out, we got on him. He did something that I think is so terrific. He said ‘I got you coach, I’ll do better.’ He just embraced responsibility and anyone who embraces responsibility has a chance to do better. He came in the game and he gave us a huge lift. That was a great performance especially after he started out that way.”

On the defense:
“We’ve been a really good defensive team. The last game we were horrible in everything. Overall, we’ve been good. We’re better when we have the two big guys in because Ryan [Kelly] is so cerebral. He’s like having another coach on the floor both offensively and defensively.”

On Amile Jefferson and replacing Ryan Kelly:
“Ryan [Kelly] is our second best shooter. The court is spread and there’s just more room with him on the court. Amile [Jefferson] has to be a real activity player. I thought he was. He made a couple of strong moves and strong finishes. He’s a good player. He’s going to be a really good player. All of our guys played well and that’s why we won.”

“His [Amile Jefferson] first real game was against N.C. State with Ryan out. You get fouls, you learn and there are things you can only pick up in a game. He’s not afraid. He plays with great enthusiasm and he’s going to be a great player here. He’s getting stronger. We aren’t going to see who he is this year exactly, but given the opportunity to play, his growth will be faster. All of the guys love playing with him.

On Mason Plumlee:
“Mason [Plumlee] just makes reads. He passes out really well and had three assists. He could’ve had more assists. In the second half, he just wanted the ball and he got the ball. I thought his second half was as good as he’s had this year. He was playing against a really good player.”

Maryland Head Coach Mark TurgeonOpening Statement:
“Duke was great. They were really good. We weren’t bad for about 25 minutes. That is as well as we have played on the road since the Northwestern game. We really competed and hung around. Sulaimon got going and hit shots. We made some mistakes defensively that got him going. Our ball screen defense wasn’t good enough all day and theirs was really good. That was the difference in the game. I thought they were fantastic, we didn’t play that bad. At the end we went a little crazy with our shot selection and things, trying to catch up a little bit too quick. All the credit goes to Duke and the way they played today, bounced back which you kind of figure they would.”

On the difference in the offense in the first half and second half:
“Charles [Mitchell] gave us a big lift on the boards that helped. Their defense gave us fits, but it also allowed us to drive the ball and do some things. We were better; we were up a little bit. Two steps forward, two steps back. It seemed like every time we would kind of get close they would drain a three. One thing that we do is we guard and we didn’t guard today. Give them credit.”

On difference in defending Mason Plumlee in first half and second half:
“Shaq [Shaquille Cleare] did a nice job on him. They made a lot of jump shots in the first half and Plumlee had a few assists on those. That is something we worked on really hard, preparing for. I thought Shaq did a nice job; Shaq’s third foul was a big one. We had three guys with two fouls; we had to go to a big lineup. They made a big time play; Amile Jefferson made a big time play at the end of that first half to put them up eight. It hurt. Shaq never really got back into the flow in the second half. I thought the whole difference was that Plumlee was more aggressive on the offensive boards, got a couple put backs and got him going a little bit. I thought we did a really nice job on him to be honest with you. He got some dump offs and second shots, but scoring over we did a nice job and had the right match-ups.”

On positives taken out of game:
“We competed in a really tough environment against a team that was ready to play. Our young kids played pretty well, Shaq, Charles [Mitchell], Jake [Layman]. We have been throwing the ball everywhere, we didn’t throw the ball everywhere tonight, until in the second half we had a stage we turned it over. We were better against tremendous pressure in an inspired arena today. We rebounded; we really rebounded well again except for the start of the second half. If we could have gotten a few more defensive rebounds there, maybe we could’ve hung in there a little bit better. A lot of positives, I know it is hard to say that when you look at the final score. Duke never quit, they played 40 minutes of really, really, good basketball. The last minute they were good.”

On if he was pleased on the team defense without Seth Allen in the first half:
“I was pleased, considering they were 7-of-10 from three. I said, ‘Man, I don’t think they can play any better than they played.’ They played about the same in the second half. They were better defensively; they wore us down a little bit. Seth [Allen] didn’t play, nothing bad, internal deal. He was a little bit late for a meeting. I don’t want it to get chronic. The thing that has been holding our team back, I have been saying it for about the past month, is immaturity. We don’t have a Mason Plumlee for our young kids to rely on, or a Seth Curry. We don’t have that. We aren’t going to grow up as quickly as the Duke kids grow up, sometimes we have to learn the hard way. We had a team vote on it and we felt that was the best discipline. I don’t think it affected us.”